Listened to this on morning commute.
They ask some good questions (e.g. Did you ever consider coming back to ND for a 5th year?), and he was somewhat forthcoming with his answers.
Link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/irish-sports-talk/2017/05/09/malik-zaire-interview-ist387
still requires luck and good play but we had an edge and swagger. He was a superior leader. As far as Coach Kelly goes, what was he supposed to tell him at the time. You guys simplify so much any coach would have probably said similar things. He wasn't going to tell him you're done now, or you got someone to compete with now.
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I wish him all the best, but he showed very little and the fact that he's still sitting here in May without a destination speaks volumes.
Numerous people here who apparently spent time watching him on the sidelines noted his less than positive body language and detachment from the team throughout the season after it didn't turn out as he wanted. I have no idea how people will contort to blame that on Kelly but I'm sure they will anyways.
Zaire basically says he felt betrayed by Kelly. He states Kelly essentially made a promise the job was his after the injury against Virginia, and it was on TV. Which ok, it's understandable that he would feel that way.
The interviewer basically just went along with it and moved on to something else. Throughout the interview Kizer's name is not mentioned, which is odd, because his ascension is critical to the narrative. Kizer was playing really well and at some point Zaire had to feel like "they can't just hand the job over to me."
What did Zaire expect to happen going into the 2016 offseason? That Kelly would just hand him the job? Had Kizer not earned the opportunity to compete? How could Kelly have kept his word? Did he feel like the promise following Virginia was made in bad faith?
Zaire said he put team first, but he openly pouted on the sideline when things didn't go his way, and was not ready when given the chance against Stanford. It just sounds like an aggrieved player who wasn't going to accept anything other than a role as the starting quarterback.
You may have misinterpreted his responses. What was Coach Kelly supposed to say at the time? You're done now, or you have to compete with the next guy (Kizer) next year. Very difficult circumstances and I think any coach would have spoken to him to try to build him up like Coach Kelly did. He seems to bear no animosity toward Notre Dame and Notre Dame includes Coach Kelly.
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Sorry.
I think Zaire clearly holds animosity towards Kelly, but not necessarily the school.
I agree Kelly said something in the heat of the moment that is defensible, but I think Zaire is within his rights to feel like he was lied to. I don't really mind what Kelly said to him. It seems like there is more to Zaire's dislike of Kelly than that one moment. Something the interviewer could have gotten into, in my opinion.
letter he wrote when he said he was transferring. That being said, it has to kill him because his opportunity was right there, and it got taken away due to his misfortune. I think Kelly is a good coach but these days so many coaches can be assholes at times, because their word means little compared to prior days. Looks at the ones who are respected for winning, Saban and Meyer are both assholes. Saban disguises it with his "intensity" and Meyer with his All American boy look. There are far more scummy coaches than Kelly, he just has to have some success soon and his approval rating will go up.
By the way you have one of the best handles here. The Rocket, one of the absolutely greatest ever, all time period.
I feel for him and to lose his opportunity the way he did just plain sucks. He'd earned his spot and it was lost to chance. And off the field he was a tremendous ambassador to the school.
But, the kid pouted on the sidelines more than once. And he admitted he wasn't fully engaged in 2014 backing up Golson. He was tremendous when he was given the reigns, but he wasn't great when it didn't go his way. I think he could have handled it better.
I'm a believer that our weaknesses are the same as our strengths, just in excess. Zaire's greatest quality is his supreme confidence in his ability. But that confidence did not allow him to accept a lesser role and I think it affected the team adversely. Doesn't make him a bad kid though. I wish him well.
And yes, The Rocket is the man.
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